


February 2013

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: HansonRoswell Side Stories [1]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Aliens, Gen, Mutant Powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-25 03:03:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4944292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the HansonRoswell universe. HansonRoswell was/is an RPG founded on the Roswell crash and the aliens descended from it, which happen to include Hanson (and dozens of other crossovers). Most characters are already established.</p>
<p>In this tie-in; Guffrey has decided he has waited long enough to go after Christian again, and decides to use Taylor as his bait to bring him in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

“So what do you think?” Taylor watched his son curiously for his initial reaction.  
Ezra continued to suck the ice cream from his spoon as he looked around the small café.  
“How long would it take?” he asked.  
“We don’t know,” Taylor answered honestly, “but we figured we could start you part-time and see how you went. If you don’t like it you can come straight home, I promise.”  
“Would Auntie Avie be there?”  
“Most of the time,” Taylor nodded, “but she wouldn’t be in all the classes with you.”  
Ezra nodded.  
“But you’ll probably get to stay with Kit for a while,” Taylor added as an incentive.  
Ezra cast a wary glance to the side, making Taylor frown.  
“What is it?” he asked, following his son’s eye line.  
“There’s a telepath here. But he’s not a good one,” Ezra said softly to make sure no one overheard.  
“A telepath?” Taylor’s frown deepened, “Ezra take my power.”  
Ezra rolled his eyes but did as asked.  
“Quel homme?" Taylor asked in French.  
“Le te regarde bizarre," Ezra responded.  
Taylor looked over to the corner of the cafe again, eyes locking with a middle-aged man in a black coat. Both he and his dining companion were looking toward them with a vague interest.  
Having trouble reading their pheromones and yet getting the distinct feeling that the one he’d locked eyes with looked eerily familiar, Taylor stood from his seat.  
“Come on, let’s go,” he said calmly, grabbing his coffee and replacing his red cap to his head.  
Ezra glanced toward the two men before taking the ice-cream cup and following his Dad from the café.   
Taylor took his hand as they walked out onto the street, casting suspicious glances over his shoulder every now and then. They made it about fifty yards before Taylor saw the men following them.  
“Dad?”  
Taylor grimaced, realising Ezra could read his pheromones.  
“Don’t worry. Let’s just get to the car,” he insisted.  
“But who are they?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor answered honestly.  
They finally made it to where Taylor had parked the car, and he unlocked the doors so that Ezra could jump in. Taylor made sure the door closed behind him as he kept his eye on their pursuers before he walked around the back to get to the driver’s side. He stopped in his tracks and dropped the coffee when he came face to face with Guffrey behind the car, immediately hitting the door locks on his remote again.

“What do you want?” Taylor demanded, putting a hand on the trunk in case he needed the leverage.  
“Straight down to business, I appreciate that,” Guffrey nodded, “I need your assistance with something which I’ve been planning for some time. I’d like you to come with us.”  
“I’m with my son,” Taylor shook his head, trying not to show his nerves, “let us go. I’ll help you with whatever you want later.”  
“I’m afraid the time is now,” Guffrey took a step forward, making Taylor step back.  
A glance over his shoulder saw that the two men had caught up and were waiting on the sidewalk. A glance through the window of the car saw Ezra’s eyes watching closely.  
“Don’t worry, I have no use for your son. We’ll see to it that he gets home safely,” Guffrey assured.  
“I’m supposed to trust your word?” Taylor frowned.  
Guffrey looked toward the one Taylor assumed was the telepath, as Taylor put his back to the car so that he didn’t have his back to them.  
“Fine,” Guffrey sighed, “you can drive him home yourself.”  
He indicated to the telepath.  
“But take my friend here with you.”  
“Are you serious?” Taylor looked incredulous, “he’ll scare him!”  
“Consider it a consequence of your prior actions,” Guffrey obviously wasn’t in the mood for procrastination, “get in the car. Now.”  
Taylor looked back at the telepath as Guffrey moved out of the way, before walking around to the driver’s door. He hesitated before unlocking it, knowing the telepath would get in the back straight away. Opting to beat him to it he quickly got in and turned to Ezra.  
“Stay calm, okay?” he said as the back door opened.  
“What’s going on?” Ezra frowned, turning to the back.  
“Just face front,” Taylor insisted, glancing back as the man with the black coat closed the door behind him and made himself comfortable, “we’ll be home in no time, okay?”  
“Why is he-?”  
“Ezra,” Taylor put a finger to his lips, indicating for him to be quiet.  
His son gave him a worried look, but obeyed. Taylor kept an eye in the rear view mirror as he started the car and pulled out.  
As he drove he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as his mind raced for something to do. His best bet would be to contact Steel and get him to track them, but he hadn’t contacted him in so long that it would definitely seem out of the ordinary. He shot Ezra a glance before checking the mirrors again – well aware that Guffrey was in the car that was tailing them.  
“Avez-vous encore la langue?" he asked suddenly.  
He looked over as Ezra nodded.  
“Dès que vous rentrez chez vous, dites à votre maman à contacter en acier. Oui?"  
Ezra gave him a questioning look as their passenger cleared his throat.  
“Keep it in English,” came his gruff voice.  
Taylor checked the mirrors again, pursing his lips as he tried to think of something else.  
“ _What do they want?_ ”  
Taylor’s eyes darted to Ezra when he realised he was speaking in an insect tongue – quiet enough so the telepath couldn’t hear.  
“ _I’m not sure,_ ” he replied as he turned a corner, “ _but they want me to go with them. They need my help with something, that’s all._ ”  
“ _With what?_ ”  
“ _I don’t know. Probably something power-related._ ”  
Ezra seemed satisfied by that, and he continued finishing off his ice-cream. Taylor debated taking a detour to either Isaac or Zac’s instead of his own house, but decided not to a) stress Isaac out any further, and b) endanger Zac’s youngest.

Reluctantly he pulled into their street, pulling up at the curb instead of going down the driveway and giving the telepath access to the house.  
“Go inside,” Taylor was back to using English so the telepath would know what they said, “I’ll be in soon.”  
“Okay,” Ezra gave him a wary look, picking up on the lie.  
Taylor watched as he got out of the car and closed the door behind him. Ezra ran for the house, stopping at the front door to look back, before disappearing inside.  
The moment he was gone Taylor felt something dig into his side. Looking down, his face lost colour when he realised it was a gun.  
“Get out,” came the order.  
Taylor undid his seatbelt slowly, being sure to keep his hands visible, before opening the door and slipping out. His feet had barely touched the ground before rough hands grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him back against the car. He made sure to keep his hands up in surrender.  
“Careful now,” Guffrey’s voice came from the right, “we want to keep the damage to a minimum.”  
Taylor heard the telepath getting out the other side of the car and his eyes darted to the side when he heard him walking away.  
“Just a moment and we’ll be on our way,” Guffrey assured, looking Taylor up and down.  
“To where?” Taylor asked, looking between them.  
He was ignored as the telepath brought Guffrey’s car up beside them. When it stopped the second man opened the back door, and Guffrey grabbed Taylor by the back of the neck to push him in. Taylor didn’t fight back, but shifted across in the seat once he was in before Guffrey got in beside him. He immediately noticed the back door handles were broken out and watched worriedly as Guffrey was passed the gun.  
“I don’t think we’ll need this, will we?” Guffrey looked to Taylor questioningly.  
Taylor just stared back as the car took off.

*

They were driving for hours, and it was well after the sun went down that the car pulled into a highway motel. Taylor nervously bit his nails when he saw what was happening, not for the first time wondering why they hadn’t just teleported where they needed to go instead of keeping him away from his family longer than necessary. But the drive had been in silence and he hadn’t been offered any answers as yet.  
Guffrey waited in the car with him while the telepath procured their room, and they soon made their way through the car park to pull up in front of it.  
Guffrey let himself out as the telepath opened Taylor’s door. He roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out, Taylor continuing to keep his hands spread in surrender. A glance toward Guffrey saw him nod them inside. Taylor looked back over his shoulder as he was pushed forward – taking note that the only other people in the area didn’t even appear to see them.  
Once inside the telepath closed the door behind them and Taylor lowered his arms. A familiar metallic sound caught his attention from the other side of the room, and his eyes darted across to see the other man handing Guffrey a pair of handcuffs.  
“No no no!” Taylor immediately panicked, backing up against the window before the telepath could grab at his arm.  
The man who held the cuffs had almost doubled over, grabbing at his head. Guffrey took the cuffs and – after giving Taylor a curious look – quickly pocketed them.  
“Calm down,” he said softly, holding a hand out defensively, “we won’t use them.”  
“What the hell was that?” the telepath frowned, not letting him go.  
“I apologise,” Guffrey’s eyebrows rose, “I didn’t even think. But we do need to make sure that you won’t try anything.”  
“Like what?” Taylor managed to hold back the stutter, having surprised himself with his reaction.  
“Please,” Guffrey indicated one of the chairs at the table, “take a seat.”  
The telepath gave him a shove in the general direction, and Taylor stumbled for a moment as he found his footing. Knowing very well that he was outnumbered in the small space they were in, he apprehensively took a seat in the chair.  
“Young Taylor here appears to have a small… restraint phobia,” Guffrey explained to the telepath.  
Taylor was back to biting his nails as his eyes darted between them.  
“Are you kidding me?” the telepath scorned as the second man grunted, sitting on one of the two beds, “so what, we can’t contain him?!”  
“We don’t really need to, for now,” Guffrey amended, “Taylor is very different from his twin.”

“How can you be sure that he’s not Christian? I mean he looks exactly the same!” the telepath exclaimed.  
Guffrey sighed and stepped over to where Taylor sat, grabbing the back of his cap and tilting his head forward to expose the back of his neck. It was clear there was no tattoo.  
“Aside from having no shred of telekinesis in him, this is how,” he said simply.  
Taylor twisted his neck with a grimace when he was let go, watching as Guffrey walked to the other side of the motel room.  
“Daniel? Kindly restrain your homicidal thoughts. We want him to return home in one piece.”  
“I was only thinking about it,” the sweating man sat on one of the twin beds, “I don’t think I can do this alone, Guff. I need help.”  
“Look, if it’s really going to be this much trouble… why don’t we just knock him out?” the telepath suggested.  
Taylor’s eyes darted between them, wondering again exactly what was going on.  
“I’ll take over for a while,” Guffrey insisted, laying himself down on one of the beds and closing his eyes once he was comfortable.  
Taylor watched Daniel’s face as he instantly began to look calmer. After he took a moment to recover he looked across at Guffrey.  
“Thanks.”  
“Get some sleep so you can take over again. We leave at first light,” Guffrey ordered.  
Daniel settled down onto the bed, turning off the nearby lamp. Taylor shifted uneasily as he locked eyes with the telepath.  
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?” he offered.  
“No,” Taylor replied.  
“Good.”  
Taylor watched after him as he left the room. He soon heard light snores from Daniel’s direction, and for all intents and purposes Guffrey may as well have been asleep too. 

*

“The adrenaline spike isn’t helping, Taylor.”  
He froze when Guffrey spoke, wondering if he knew what he’d been doing. Guffrey slid one eye open, focusing on Taylor, before closing it again.  
“I must admit, I didn’t expect the emotional turbulence to be this… peaked.”  
“You’re keeping me calm via empath?” Taylor realised.  
“Like I said, we want you to return home in one piece,” Guffrey said simply, “that includes your mentality. We are well aware of your recent issues with telepathy, which is why I only used it to block your secondary power. Nothing more.”  
Taylor looked across at the door again, wondering just how badly he’d be taking the situation without their continued influence. But he’d gotten his answer as to why he wasn’t able to atomically manipulate the chair.  
“Why?” he figured he’d ask while Guffrey seemed to be in a sharing mood, “why am I here? What do you want me to do?”  
“I don’t want you to do anything,” Guffrey replied with a sigh.  
“Then why didn’t you just take my power like before?” Taylor was confused, “why take me?”  
“I no longer have any use for your power,” Guffrey admitted, “I now have full time access to Tongue.”  
The colour drained from Taylor’s face, and he saw Guffrey’s expression change as he worked to contain the emotion.  
“Oh. You know him?”  
“Sheldon?” Taylor breathed.  
“I believe that’s the name he likes to go by, yes. I knew him as Jacob.”  
Taylor looked towards the door, now more worried than he’d been before.  
“So you don’t need me for my power,” he attempted to get back on topic, “then why? Why else would you need me?”  
“A trade,” Guffrey replied, shifting on the bed a little as he worked to contain the spikes.  
“Trade?” Taylor frowned, “for what?”  
“For Christian Thomas.”  
Taylor blanched, and Guffrey grimaced as he struggled to keep control.  
“You want to catch Chris by using me?” Taylor looked incredulous.  
“It worked for the scientist.”  
Taylor closed his eyes, the statement bringing back unwanted memories.  
“No one even knows where he is,” Taylor opened his eyes again, “no one’s seen or heard from Chris in months. How is he even going to know about this?”  
“I’m sure he’ll find a way,” Guffrey waved him off, “he always seems to keep up with the news somehow.”  
“And what if he’s gone underground again?” Taylor tried to reason, seeing it as his only real chance, “there’s no way of knowing how long it’ll take for him to surface again. How would we even know if he’s been killed?”  
“I’ll know,” Guffrey insisted, a little too sure of himself for Taylor’s liking, “and I’m a very patient Dathrian, Taylor. This can go on for as long as it takes.”  
Taylor swallowed, looking across at the door again.  
“So how is he supposed to know?” he asked.  
“We have a room set up for you back at my home. You will have internet access. You can talk to your family as much as you wish.”  
“What?” Taylor dared not be too hopeful.  
“I have no reason to not allow you. And it should help pull Christian from the shadows a lot faster.”  
“You’re not worried it’ll be traced?”  
“No.”  
Once again, he sounded too sure of himself. But the prospect of at least keeping in contact with Natalie wasn’t something he was going to argue too much about.  
“Try and get some sleep. I do realise it’s awkward for you,” Guffrey insisted, “but it is purely a case of caution.”  
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Taylor admitted honestly.  
He definitely felt calm on the exterior, but at the same time could sense the turbulence like an undercurrent just waiting to rise up in his chest and make him panic.  
“Would you like some assistance with that?”  
Taylor blanched, knowing immediately what he meant.  
“No,” he looked toward the door again, knowing the telepath was all too willing already.  
“Suit yourself. But I believe you’ve managed in worse situations.”  
Taylor nodded and lowered his eyes, wondering how much Guffrey knew about that. He wasn’t game enough to ask.  
He closed his eyes and figured that if he at least pretended he was trying to get some sleep, Guffrey would leave him alone for a while. Maybe Guffrey himself would fall asleep and let Taylor have some time to figure out how to get away.


	2. Part Two

Taylor looked up in surprise as they pulled up in front of the mansion. It wasn’t at all as inconspicuous as he remembered.  
“Welcome to my humble abode,” Guffrey mused when he saw the look on his face.  
Daniel and the telepath both exited the car before opening the back doors. Taylor was pulled out by the telepath before he saw him reveal a pair of handcuffs. He automatically gulped.  
“I don’t believe that’s necessary,” Guffrey shot the telepath a warning glance.  
“Are you kidding me?”  
The look Guffrey gave him made him put them away. Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. With a grunt the telepath took Taylor by the arm and led him around the car as they all made their way up to the front door.  
Taylor had to admit – the building was impressive. A massive staircase greeted them in the foyer but the three men led him off to the side and through an in descript door. They followed a much smaller staircase down into what Taylor thought would be a basement, but turned out to be a long white hallway. They passed a window on their left which looked into a large room that looked somewhat like a study, and stopped at the door beyond. Guffrey produced a key to unlock it.  
“This will be your room,” he announced as Taylor gave the telepath a worried glance.  
As he opened the door Taylor was pushed through, and he got to have a proper look for the first time. There was a single bed against the far wall, two full bookcases to the right, a desk on his left complete with a laptop computer and webcam, a sofa in the middle, and another door just beyond the computer desk.  
“Through there is your bathroom,” Guffrey indicated the door as Taylor looked up for the first time.  
And gulped.  
Above them was a thick glass ceiling. The room above was obviously a living area leading into a large bedroom. He could easily guess who occupied the room.  
“The computer is all set up with the internet, etcetera. Anything you could do to persuade young Christian to turn himself in will be very much appreciated.”  
Taylor looked across at the computer worriedly before stepping to the side as the empath came into the room. Behind him came a man about a foot taller than Taylor, skin as dark as night and an expression on his face that Taylor couldn’t read. He felt his blood run cold purely at the sight of him.  
“Taylor, this is William. You’ll be seeing a lot of him over the coming… well, however long you’ll be with us.”  
“What if this doesn’t work?” Taylor had to ask, eyes shooting back to Guffrey.  
He knew there was no way Christian would give himself up to Guffrey without one hell of a fight.  
“Believe me Taylor, your worth is very limited to us,” Guffrey explained calmly as he turned back to face him, “you are only here for one reason – to bring Christian out of hiding. If that doesn’t happen the way we expect it to then there would be no reason to keep you here longer than we think is suitable. You will return home, but I cannot guarantee in what condition.”  
Taylor’s eyes darted to the empath, seeing him grimace visibly.  
“I can guarantee that anything you’d put me through, I’ve been through far worse,” Taylor insisted almost defiantly.  
“Maybe, but probably not,” Guffrey took a step closer making Taylor glad the sofa was between them.  
They locked eyes.  
“I’m not interested in your blood, Taylor. Nor am I interested in causing any further telepathic damage,” he clarified.  
“Then what do you mean?” Taylor frowned.  
Guffrey only offered a short smile, which by proxy meant Daniel got a bigger headache.  
“How about a little demonstration of William’s power?” he offered, before looking to the Nigerian.

“Take anything in relation to how he arrived here,” he ordered calmly, “and find out why I couldn’t sense his son’s power.”  
“What?!” Taylor exclaimed, backing off as William started toward him, “I thought you said nothing telepathic! And what does my son have to do with anything?!”  
“Telepathy works on a different level to what William’s power does, no damage will be done,” Guffrey assured him as the telepath ducked around the sofa to cut off Taylor’s escape, “and as for your son? Pure curiosity. I’m intrigued when I cannot sense another’s power. It doesn’t happen often.”  
He paused for thought as the telepath grabbed Taylor’s shoulder to try and hold him still. Failing that he pulled his arms behind him.  
“Never, actually,” Guffrey realised, “it’s almost as if he didn’t even have a power.”  
“He doesn’t!” Taylor clung to straight away as his eyes locked to the Nigerian, “he was born premature and he didn’t develop one!”  
“I don’t believe that. Besides, I was telepathic witness to him speaking in Tongue.”  
Taylor clenched his teeth and leant back as far as he could as William pulled the red cap from his head and gently laid the palm of his hand across Taylor’s forehead. Taylor’s eyes darted from side to side in a mild panic as he heard Daniel groaning from the other side of the room.  
Taylor closed his eyes expecting it to hurt. A moment later when William removed his hand, he opened them again in surprise as he didn’t feel any different. He looked towards Guffrey in worry as the telepath kept a hold of his arms.  
“Done,” William’s thick accent slipped out.  
“His power?” Guffrey looked up questioningly as Taylor watched the byplay.  
“His power is the same as yours.”  
Taylor cringed and closed his eyes.  
“Oh really?” there was no mistaking the satisfaction in Guffrey’s voice, “another power borrower? I never thought I’d see one in my time…”  
“Please leave him alone,” Taylor could feel the fear rising in his chest as Daniel struggled to keep control, “he’s just a child!”  
“Do you even know what I do?” Guffrey looked curious as he stepped closer.  
Taylor began to struggle against the telepath, and he abruptly shoved him down onto the sofa. He would have stood up again if he didn’t have the three men – minus Daniel – suddenly standing over him.  
“Of course I do,” he looked between them.  
“Good,” Guffrey took a seat on the other end of the chair, “then you know I deal exclusively with children.”  
Taylor jumped as William threw his hat back to him. He caught it and clenched it in his fists.  
“Not to mention that I’m no spring chicken anymore. How would young Ezra like to be the Christian to my Craig?”  
Taylor jumped again as Daniel yelled out suddenly. Guffrey rolled his eyes and took on his empathy again.  
“If you dare touch my son-“ Taylor began, suddenly not caring who else was in the room, “I swear to God I will see to it that you suffer a worse fate than either Blakesley or Craig.”  
“Blakesley would be the scientist, yes?” Guffrey rested his elbow on the back of the sofa and his head on his fist, feigning interest.  
“If you touch _any_ of my kids I swear-“  
“Relax, Taylor,” Guffrey cut him off, “as it stands, Ezra is too old for us. And I have no interest in either he or your daughter’s powers.”  
“You what?” Taylor was confused.  
“I’m not an evil man, Taylor. I’m a businessman,” Guffrey assured, “I don’t have any interest in a power borrower, nor an animal healer. Rarities are often rare for a reason – they’re not viable. They’re unwanted. How many people would you assume would want the assistance of a power borrower, for instance? Without anyone to borrow powers from, they are useless.”  
“So you only take kids with certain powers?” Taylor frowned.  
“Only those with powers we find there are a demand for,” Guffrey clarified.  
“Like mine,” Taylor’s face went red.  
“Yes, like yours. Fortunately for you and your elder brother, I decided long ago that I could do without the likes of Walker Hanson on my trail.”  
Taylor frowned, confused.  
“Our father?” he shook his head, “our father was never a field agent.”  
Guffrey stared at him for a moment, and Taylor took the chance in the silence to glance in Daniel’s direction. The man was sitting on the computer chair with his head in his hands.  
“You don’t know exactly what it is your father does on the council, do you?” Guffrey asked suddenly.  
“I…” Taylor trailed off, not sure of what to say, “I guess he never brought his work home. It wasn’t – isn’t – any of our business what the higher-ups do.”  
“And you never indulged in curiosity?” Guffrey looked genuinely intrigued.  
“No,” Taylor looked up to William again, purposely not looking in the telepath’s direction.  
“How interesting,” Guffrey mused.  
“Why? Why is that interesting?” Taylor looked between them again, “my father never came for me before, so why would you be worried?”  
“I think your recent situations differ slightly in the outcome with which I would have had for you,” Guffrey looked thoughtful.  
“Yeah, death,” Taylor looked incredulous, “Craig and Blakesley both wanted me dead. Of course only once they were done using me for my power.”  
“Well you can rest assured that death is the last thing I would want for you. Or for Christian,” Guffrey assured.

Taylor realised he’d sat up straight and sat himself back a little at the reminder of his situation.  
“Why, pray tell, do you two look so alike?”  
Taylor started, not expecting the question. With a glance toward the telepath he replaced the cap on his head and narrowed his eyes at Guffrey.  
“You don’t know?” he asked.  
“No,” Guffrey admitted straight off, “and I admit to being overly confused by it. I know for a fact that you aren’t ‘separated at birth’ shall we say, but until now I hadn’t really gotten a close look at you either.”  
Taylor massaged his teeth with his tongue, not wanting to spill all but not sure of how he could get out of it either. Especially among a telepath and… whatever William was.  
He didn’t particularly want to be the one to tell Marshall Guffrey of all people that his lifelong charge was a duplication mishap.  
“Well?” Guffrey’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.  
“We’re not twins,” Taylor confirmed, fiddling with his Hanson ring.  
“So I gathered. Aside from you having different powers,” Guffrey was beginning to sound impatient.  
“Well it’s kinda hard to explain,” Taylor tried to buy himself some time.  
“By all means take your time,” Guffrey checked his watch, “I have hours to spare.”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed as he looked over at Daniel again, who was just staring at him with interest.   
“Fine,” Taylor sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep it up for long anyway, “when I was a baby, a duplicator found me in a park with my parents. He decided to see if he could clone a baby.”  
“Christian is a clone?” Guffrey frowned.  
“Pretty much,” Taylor nodded, “but of course he’s not a true clone. My brother interrupted the process – you’d know him as the telekinetic.”  
Taylor tried to keep any sarcasm out of his voice.  
“So there are differences like his power. And his hair’s a bit darker, I’m skinnier than he is, and… his eyes are brown.”  
“Christian’s eyes aren’t brown,” the telepath frowned in confusion.  
“Not completely,” Taylor looked up at him, “but they’re getting there. It started off with just a speck of brown in one eye about… I think eight years ago? The speck just grew and grew and now his eyes are mostly brown. Or they would be if he didn’t keep getting them changed.”  
“Changed?” Guffrey asked.  
“Yeah. Light manipulator, usually,” Taylor opted not to mention anything about his shapeshifting.  
“Why would he do that?” Daniel asked curiously, “I mean why bother?”  
“So that he could look like me,” Taylor offered without even thinking.  
When he realised what he’d said, and saw the stares he got as a result, he looked to Guffrey.  
“May I use the bathroom?” he pleaded softly.  
The moment Guffrey dismissed him with a wave of his hand, he stood and rushed to the door. Glad to be away from the four interrogators, he closed the door behind him and stood against it for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

“He wasn’t lying,” Daniel looked across at Guffrey.  
“I know,” Guffrey tapped his head, “and it does put an interesting spin on things.”  
“Why would Chris want to look like this guy? When would he need to?” the telepath folded his arms.  
“Infiltration, one would assume,” Guffrey scratched at his moustache absently, “but for what purpose?”  
“Wasn’t it his sister that killed Craig?” Daniel spoke up again, “maybe he wanted revenge on the family?”  
“No that isn’t it,” Guffrey shook his head, “for some reason Christian has been all too forgiving of them for it. That’s why young Taylor is here. Because Christian will feel the need to come for him.”  
Taylor could easily hear every word they said from where he was.   
“It must have something to do with how they look so alike,” Guffrey went on.  
“Or maybe rehab really did do him wonders,” the telepath smirked.  
“The scientist had him before that,” Guffrey corrected, “maybe they forged some kind of bond over their mutual… torture experience.”  
“Did you see those tapes?” Daniel sounded sick, “dude was messed up. And it wasn’t just Dathrians he was doing it to either, he-“  
“I only saw the ones Christian was in,” Guffrey responded, “but Taylor was certainly in a few of those. Even then, Christian already seemed protective of him.”  
Taylor closed his eyes as he leant his head back against the door. They were trying to figure out what even he and Chris couldn’t themselves.  
“Maybe in some weird power-related way, they really are twins?” Daniel suggested, “you know how twins are supposed to have that sort of telepathic thing going on naturally?”  
“You might as well come on out, Taylor. You can’t hide in there forever.”  
“I could try,” Taylor murmured in response to Guffrey’s words, before wincing as he realised they’d hear it.  
“Daniel? Terry? Perhaps you two should step outside,” Guffrey looked between the empath and telepath, “he may be feeling crowded.”  
Taylor rolled his eyes as he heard the two men immediately leave the room. When he heard the door close behind them Taylor went about his business before cautiously emerging from the bathroom. He took a step to the side and leant against the wall as he took in Guffrey and William’s stares.  
“So what now?” he asked, a little anxious.  
“Come and sit down,” Guffrey indicated where Taylor had sat previously, “we still need to talk.”  
“About what?” Taylor asked without moving, “I can’t offer you anything about Chris that you wouldn’t already know.”  
“I do doubt that,” Guffrey remarked dryly, “but we also need to discuss your involvement. In particular the antics you displayed last time Christian was in my custody.”  
Taylor’s face paled visibly.  
“What about them?” he hated to ask.  
“Sit down.”  
This time it was an order, and Taylor could tell the difference. With a glance in William’s direction to make sure he wasn’t in the way, Taylor cautiously ducked around the other end of the sofa and took up his prior seat. His knee began bouncing nervously as he folded his arms.  
“What’s your power?” Taylor looked up at William suddenly, hoping to take Guffrey’s mind off the impending conversation.  
William just smiled, showing brilliant white teeth against his dark skin.  
“Taylor, do you remember how you got here?” Guffrey mused, otherwise not moving.  
“Yeah, the three of us came by-“  
Taylor cut himself off with a frown.  
“We were in a car. And we stopped at a motel. And then… we were here.”  
He looked up worriedly.  
“I don’t know where we are,” he finally admitted, the realisation dampening his hopes of escape further.  
“William’s power revolves exclusively around the memory,” Guffrey explained as Taylor looked between them curiously, “while telepathy deals exclusively with your conscious and forethought, William’s power can delve further. If you think of your memory like a computer hard drive… William could be considered the USB drive. He can give and he can take, and he can also erase completely.”  
“So you took the memories of how I got here?” Taylor confirmed.  
“Correct,” Guffrey answered for him, “enterprising, is it not?”  
“I’ve never heard of anything like it. Except telepathy of course,” Taylor shook his head.  
“Telepathy can only move things around in your head,” Guffrey went on, “William can give or take. Ultimately.”  
“Can you use it?” Taylor asked, eyes on Guffrey.  
“I can,” he confirmed, “but I prefer not to. Best to leave matters of the mind to the professionals.”  
Taylor nodded, lowering his eyes as he remembered trying to talk Ezra into taking Ga’Revali classes on the station.

“Before we get too off track…” Guffrey began again after a short moment’s silence, “let me bring up the question of how you’ll pay for the damage you caused last time you were here.”  
“What do you mean ‘pay’?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“Well you did ruin almost an entire storey of a perfectly good training centre,” Guffrey pointed out, “and you managed to kill not only a good portion of my best operatives, but some dear friends of mine in the process.”  
“I’m sorry about that,” Taylor said sincerely, “but I didn’t know what else to do. You had us cornered.”  
“And what business is it of yours what I want with Christian?” Guffrey’s voice lowered.  
“He’s my friend,” Taylor gave him a glance before returning his eyes to the ground, “if I could have helped him – which I could – then I would have. He’s done it for me countless times and this was the first time…”  
Taylor licked his lips awkwardly.  
“It was the first time I could really give something back.”  
“And now, just like anything else, there are consequences that need to be faced,” Guffrey reasoned.  
Taylor’s arms moved to hug his waist as he nervously waited for what Guffrey wanted from him.  
“I believe you have a three year old, correct?”  
“What?” Taylor’s eyes darted up and searched Guffrey’s.  
“The hydrokinetic. I’ve had my eye on that one for some time now.”  
“I thought you said you weren’t interested in my kids,” Taylor was trying not to panic, but there was an obvious grimace on Guffrey’s face as he worked his empathy to keep control.  
“I said I wasn’t interested in your two eldest and their rare powers,” Guffrey clarified, “I never said anything about the younger ones.”  
“You can’t have them,” Taylor said straight out.  
“My dear boy,” Guffrey leant forward provokingly, “that’s what all the parents think.”

Taylor shot to his feet.  
“You will not take my sons,” he said defiantly, “I don’t care what I have to do to stop you.”  
“Son. Only one of them is old enough,” Guffrey corrected, “and what makes you think you could possibly stop me? What makes you, of all parents, so different?”  
“First-hand experience with the likes of you,” Taylor hit back, “and worse.”  
“So tell me how well you managed to keep the scientist from kidnapping your girlfriend?” Guffrey’s expression didn’t change at the threatening tone, “or how you stopped the Spider from using your sister for his own means?”  
“That was before,” Taylor scowled, “you know full well that was before I was healed.”  
“So really, you have no experience outside of the one time you ‘rescued’ Christian,” Guffrey pointed out, “at which point you were entirely reliant on the sonic aspect of your power.”  
“Don’t tempt me to bring them out now,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “it’d be interesting to see if you could teleport faster than I could scream.”  
Guffrey stared at him for a moment, before turning to William.  
“William? Show our guest what we procured from the scientist.”  
“Which item?” the quiet man spoke up.  
“The one directly related to sonics.”  
Taylor watched as William gave him a glance before stepping over to a nearby cupboard. As he opened the doors and pulled something from inside, Taylor took an automatic step back.  
“The scientist, as unpleasant as he was, certainly had some interesting toys,” Guffrey mused, resting his hands on his knees as he pulled himself up, “we only saw fit to raid his premises once we’d acquired young Christian. This is of course one of many things we discovered…”  
Guffrey took the bust from William, looking appreciatively over the gag that was displayed on it. It was made of thick black leather and connected to a similar collar, with thin metal struts that made their way into the mouth and around the base of the jaw. It basically looked like some sort of medieval posture collar, but having worn one of those already Taylor could see it wouldn’t have the same effect.  
Taylor didn’t remember Blakesley having – or using – anything remotely like this one.  
“I’m unaware of the specifics, but somehow this… wiring, works on the vibrations of the voice box,” Guffrey indicated the struts as he explained, “to either dampen or completely neutralise their effect. I’m unsure if this is something he was working on specifically for you, or simply for any being with an amplified audio ratio.”  
“You’re saying it stops sonics?” Taylor’s eyes were darting again as he backed off further.  
“I’m not sure if it stops them completely or just dampens the effect… like I said,” Guffrey’s eyes fell on him again, “but I had hoped you wouldn’t give us reason to test the theory.”  
“I could bet you wouldn’t get it on me fast enough,” Taylor darted back as Guffrey took a step forward.  
“All I’d need to do is block your primary power for a moment,” Guffrey shrugged, “I saw what happened to you when the scientist did it. You couldn’t even sense when you were in life-threatening danger, am I right?”  
Taylor gulped as he remembered waking up to the beast towering over him. He took another step back as Guffrey moved forward before raising his hands in surrender.  
“Alright! Alright,” he pleaded, closing his eyes for a moment before forcing them open again to stay on Guffrey, “don’t. I’m good. I swear.”  
“So I thought,” Guffrey gently set the bust down on the sofa.  
Taylor took a moment to gather himself once it was out of Guffrey’s hands.  
“And we will take our leave, in order to let you settle in and begin your… ‘work’,” Guffrey offered, making Taylor frown, “however before we go, I’d like you to forget the part of the conversation that centred on your son.”  
“What? Why?” Taylor’s eyes darted to William.  
“Because I expect you to contact your family, of course,” Guffrey looked surprised, “we can’t have you trying to warn them.”  
Taylor looked towards the laptop, wondering what his chances were of getting a message through before William could get to him. Knowing straight away that it was hopeless, he quickly dug his nails into the palm of his right hand trying to make an indent that somewhat resembled ‘R-I-V’. While he was distracted, William moved toward him. Taylor had nowhere to go.  
He almost tripped as he fell back into a sitting position on the bed, William’s hand once again on his forehead. In seconds it was over and Taylor couldn’t even tell that anything was missing.  
With a nod to Guffrey, William left the room.  
“I’ll be sure to keep an empath nearby, but no one should disturb you,” Guffrey assured as he also began to head for the door, “make yourself at home, won’t you?”  
Taylor took the cap from his head again as Guffrey disappeared, and he heard the lock in the door turn. With an anxious glance toward where the bust still sat on the sofa, he pulled himself up from the bed and darted over to the computer. Quickly starting it up, he soon found where to log onto Skype, and immediately tried to call Natalie.


	3. Part Three

“Mom?!” Ezra called out, “the computer wants you!”  
“Go take your sister outside and watch River for me,” Natalie insisted as she came into the room, immediately going for the computer and accepting the video call.  
Her heart skipped a beat when Taylor appeared on screen.  
“Hey,” he greeted with a small smile.  
“Is that Dad?” Ezra asked.  
“Ezra go outside,” Natalie repeated, “don’t make me say it again!”  
“Hey, come on, he’s worried,” Taylor tried to calm her, knowing he wouldn’t have much influence though he tried, “are you guys okay?”  
Natalie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as Ezra disappeared.  
“We’re okay,” Natalie nodded, “how about you? What’s going on?”  
Taylor glanced to the side before answering.  
“It’s Guffrey,” he revealed, “he’s after Christian. Apparently I’m the bait.”  
“Chris?” Natalie frowned, “but… how? We haven’t heard from him in months!”  
“I know, and Guffrey knows,” Taylor nodded, “but he doesn’t care. He seems to think my disappearance will bring him out of hiding.”  
Natalie rested her chin in her hand as she struggled to think.  
“What can I do?” she asked.  
“Tell Ike and Zac. Tell Tanya,” Taylor looked to the side again as if worried someone would appear at any moment, “and tell Steel. Between them they might come up with something.”  
“I got your message from Ezra,” Natalie confirmed, “I called Steel right away. He said he’d drop by this afternoon because I couldn’t give him any information. Do you know where you are?”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, starting to look worried, “I know how I got here, but… I don’t. It’s weird. There’s a guy here who’s wiped my memory of it.”  
“A telepath?” Natalie frowned, “but what about-“  
“Not a telepath,” Taylor shook his head, “his power deals exclusively with memory. I don’t even know if he’s made me forget anything else already. It’s like I don’t even miss it being there.”  
Natalie shook her head as if having trouble comprehending it.  
“I’m going to call my Dad,” she said with finality.  
“Of course!” Taylor’s eyes shone with renewed vigour, “I can’t believe I forgot! But how far does it work? Like what’s his range?”  
“I don’t think he’s ever done something like this before, but I could be wrong,” Natalie shrugged as she fetched her cell phone from the table behind her, “I mean he had to be within range to find Avery, but you’ve spent a lot more time with him so she practically could have been a stranger…”  
It was while Natalie was doing this that Taylor happened to glance upward again.  
“Nat stop,” he said instantly, standing up from the chair.  
“What?” she looked at the screen again only to see his waist.  
Taylor had locked eyes with Guffrey, standing calmly above him. The television in the room had turned on and he could easily see a replica of what was on his computer on the screen.  
He felt goosebumps creep up his arms as Guffrey didn’t bother to look away from him.  
“Tay?!”   
He jumped when Natalie pulled him away from the awkward stare.  
“He’s watching,” he warned, leaning over the desk so she could see his face on screen again, “be very careful what you say right now.”  
Natalie paused as she rushed to think, unsure of how long she had to talk with him. Taylor returned to his seat while keeping a wary eye above. Guffrey was moving around the room while still watching the screen.  
“Taylor are you hurt?” she finally asked, “what’s his plan if this doesn’t work? What if we can’t find Chris?”  
“I’m okay,” Taylor insisted, “in fact he has gone out of his way to make sure I don’t get hurt, right down to employing an empath to keep me calm.”  
“So he’s just planning to keep you there?” she frowned, “for how long?! Chris won’t do anything if he knows you’re safe, we can’t rely on him!”  
“I’m sure they’ll come up with something,” Taylor didn’t want to go into it with Guffrey’s prying ears.  
“But what if they don’t?! What’s he going to do?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor answered honestly with a worried shrug, “he said something about definitely returning me home, but maybe not in good condition.”  
“Oh Tay,” Natalie covered her mouth, willing her eyes not to tear up in fear for him.  
“Let’s just take this one step at a time,” he insisted, knowing she was getting upset, “talk to Steel, see if he knows where Chris is, and maybe they can negotiate somehow.”  
Natalie nodded, unable to respond.  
“When can I talk to you again?” she managed to ask.  
“You can call me anytime. I’ll be here,” Taylor insisted, “there’s not much else for me to do.”  
“I’ll call back once Steel gets here,” she promised, not wanting to end the conversation at all.  
She didn’t trust that something wouldn’t happen to him as soon as she closed the window.  
“Great,” Taylor insisted, “I’ll be fine until then, I promise. He hasn’t given us any sort of deadline.”  
“Okay,” Natalie nodded, “what do I tell the kids?”  
Taylor hesitated at that, rushing to think.   
“An unexpected trip?” he suggested awkwardly, “tell them it’s power-related. Something to do with an upcoming tournament or the like.”  
“That could work,” Natalie agreed.  
“Okay,” Taylor nodded, “so just… take care. I’ll talk to you this afternoon, yeah?”  
“Please be careful,” Natalie’s worry showed in her voice.  
“I don’t have to be, I promise,” Taylor insisted, “it’s just a waiting game. It’s Chris’ move now.”

Once they finally said their awkward goodbyes Taylor sat back into the chair and ran his fingers through his hair.  
He suddenly felt very, very alone.  
“Taylor.”  
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Guffrey’s voice. When he looked up he saw the man had created what looked like air holes in the glass floor, just enough so that his voice could carry through.  
“Feel free to browse the bookshelves, the cabinets, or indeed the internet while you wait. I’ll have something for lunch brought down to you shortly.”  
Taylor was about to automatically thank him, but stopped himself. The situation was so odd.  
Before he could say anything Guffrey had moved out of sight. Only the bedroom itself was in view, so Taylor had to assume he’d either left it or gone into his ensuite.  
He stared at the computer for a moment as his leg bounced nervously, before standing from the chair and folding his arms defensively. He stared across at the door and wondered if it was guarded. He might not be able to manipulate it, but he wasn’t as physically weak as he had been with Craig or Blakesley. He could certainly have a go at breaking it down if he had the opportunity.  
But what if he did? What then? What was outside? _Where was he?_  
He didn’t know that if he made it out, he’d be able to make it home. Not to mention that Guffrey already knew where he lived. If he evaded Guffrey, would he go after Natalie to spite him?  
Would he go after the kids?  
He stopped and closed his eyes, trying not to think the worst. He just had to wait it out. He had to hope that Christian was going to come up with some kind of plan.  
He started to walk over to the cabinets but stopped short of them when he remembered the bust. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what else they had in there. But at the same time… it was probably better to be prepared. So after pacing back and forth a few times he pulled himself together enough to dart over and quickly open the doors.  
He frowned and knelt down when he wasn’t sure what he was seeing at first, but he recognised that half the cabinet was stocked with things he might need such as extra blankets, a pillow and some basic clothing. The other half had some paperwork, some extra books that must not have fit into the bookshelves, and a few other odd items where he assumed the bust had come from.   
He moved a few of them around with his hand, unsure of what they were, before his eyes fell on something black and he flinched back in fright.   
He immediately felt the blanket influence from the empath as they struggled to contain him and fell back into a sit as it caused him to feel dizzy. Once he’d recovered he ran his fingers through his hair as his eyes went back to the shelf.  
He could see it clearly now. It was one of Blakesley’s collars. Yet again he was wondering exactly how much they’d pulled from the labs. 

He didn’t know how long he was sitting there before he heard the door unlocking. Without bothering to move, he looked up to see who it was.  
It was William, holding a plate of food. The man was silent as he closed the door behind himself and took the plate over to the computer desk where he was able to set it down in a clear spot.  
“Your lunch,” he announced when done.  
“Thanks,” Taylor said softly, keeping him in his peripheral.  
He was aware that the empath had to be struggling without Guffrey’s help, as his nerves had suddenly seemed to skyrocket. He wasn’t on the verge of panic, but he was very uneasy at William’s presence.  
“You should eat,” the larger man insisted after a pause, “you have not had much today.”  
“Why are you helping him?” Taylor asked instead, looking up again.  
“I am employed,” William seemed confused at the question, “I do not believe his needs are overly hard to understand.”  
“I get his needs, or wants,” Taylor corrected, “but his tactics? What about those?”  
“I am not here to question his tactics,” William stated blandly, “I am here to do my job.”  
“How much is he paying you to hold me prisoner?”  
William’s head tilted and his eyes shifted toward the door.  
“Your incarceration is temporary,” he continued in the same tone.  
“Yeah I’ve heard that before,” Taylor rolled his eyes.  
“Marshall is not The Spider,” William insisted, “he has no reason to lie to you. You know what he wants.”  
Taylor hesitated, wondering how much the man had already seen.  
“If you’ve been in my head you know that isn’t very reassuring,” he tested the waters.  
“I believe he is telling the truth,” William said decidedly, “both that you will return home, and that you may not be well if Christian Thomas does not turn himself in.”  
Taylor diverted his eyes. He didn’t want to doubt Christian’s ability to work this out, but he couldn’t help but worry that he might just run at the mention of Guffrey’s name.   
He certainly would have if it had been the other way around. He just had to trust that Christian was braver than he was.  
“You should eat,” William insisted as he made for the door.  
Taylor waited until he was gone and the door had locked behind him before returning his gaze to the cabinet. Pulling himself up onto his knees, he closed the doors so that he wouldn’t have to see the collar. It had been one of the more recent ones the scientist had used, and Taylor knew it had the capability to block both of his powers with ease.  
Not wanting to dwell on it, he decided he needed to do as William suggested, and eat.

Before he could bring himself to seek out a book, a Skype call finally came through. He darted over from the couch to accept it before he even sat on the chair.  
He let his breath go when Natalie’s face appeared on screen.  
“Hey,” he greeted, attempting a smile.  
“Hey yourself,” she replied, “is this a supervised visit?”  
Taylor looked up. There was still no sign of Guffrey.  
“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly, “I think we just have to be careful either way.”  
“Hey!”  
Taylor’s eyes darted back to see Steel’s face on screen, just to Natalie’s left.   
“Hey you,” he immediately turned apprehensive, “long time no see.”  
“Yeah sorry about that. Sorry about this,” Steel indicated the screen, “we should have known sooner. We let you down man.”  
“Well there’s a way you can make it up to me,” Taylor assured, “do you know where Chris is?”  
“We don’t. Well, we know what city he’s in,” Steel amended, “we lost contact with him a while back but I managed to get him on the phone once I got Nat’s call.”  
“And?” Taylor looked hopeful.  
“And… we’re working on it,” Steel obviously didn’t want to say much more.  
“Nat, have you spoken to him?”  
“No,” she shook her head, “we weren’t sure what kind of surveillance Guffrey had.”  
“Nothing from what I can tell,” Steel quickly amended at Taylor’s worried look, “but we’ll do a proper sweep and just confirm it.”  
“Thanks for that,” Taylor leant forward a little.  
“Did you want to talk to Chris?”  
“How?” Taylor frowned.  
“I can get Chris on a conference call. Can you believe the guy didn’t have an email address before today?”  
“Yes, I can,” Taylor mused, “but aren’t you worried about it being traced?”  
“Trust me,” Steel took over the keyboard from Natalie, “if we can’t trace him, no one else is going to.”  
Taylor saw the call going through and quickly checked overhead and over his shoulder again. He was certainly alone in the room, but he didn’t know who may have been watching by other means.  
“Yo,” Christian’s voice came through once they were connected.  
The screen divided into two windows – one with Natalie and one with Christian.  
“Ah hey,” Taylor shifted in his seat, “how are you?”  
“I’ve been better,” Christian admitted, obviously on the move.  
He seemed to be walking down a street, the sun occasionally blocking the screen.  
“Where are you?” Taylor frowned.  
“I’m not sure I should answer that. Where the hell are you?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor admitted, “they have a guy who can play with memory and he wiped mine clean. I remember being picked up and I remember stopping for the night, but that’s it.”  
“That’s not good,” Christian muttered.  
“So, Chris,” Natalie cut in, “what is Taylor supposed to tell them? Are you willing to negotiate?”  
“Negotiate what?” there was a frown in his voice, “the bottom line here is he wants a trade. If I don’t front up and say ‘sure you can lock me away for the rest of my natural life’ he won’t be interested.”  
“There must be something you can do,” Natalie insisted.  
“Then tell me and I’ll do it.”  
“Chris you’re the only person who can control the game here,” Taylor came through, determination in his voice, “and if your plan is to just let me sit here and rot, that changes our perspective on what we need to do.”  
“That’s not the plan,” Christian sounded disgruntled.  
“So what am I supposed to do?”  
Christian stopped walking for a moment and looked over his shoulder.  
“Are you being followed?” Steel asked right away.  
“I don’t think so,” Christian blew off, “Taylor just hang tight. I’ll be in touch.”  
With that, his call dropped out.  
“Now what?!” Natalie demanded, looking at Steel.  
“Now we go to work,” he stood from where he’d been leaning over, “Tay we’ll be in touch.”  
“That’s it?” Taylor frowned, “what am I supposed to tell them?!”  
“Just that we’re aware of the situation and we’re working on coming to an amiable conclusion for both parties.”  
“That doesn’t fill me with confidence.”  
“Sorry but it’ll have to do for now.”  
He disappeared from the screen, leaving Natalie looking somewhat bewildered.  
“Are we really leaving your fate in the hands of these people?” she asked after a moment in which Taylor assumed Steel had left for good.  
“I don’t know what else to do,” Taylor shrugged dismally, “did you call Ike?”  
“Yes. He was on his way to the studio and then he was coming by straight after. He said he’d get Zac here as soon as he could.”  
“It sounds like there’s no need to rush,” Taylor reasoned, “I could be here a while yet.”  
“Not if I have anything to do with it,” she insisted, “are you still alone?”  
Taylor jolted before looking up. He’d gotten so caught up in Christian’s call that he hadn’t thought to keep checking. Sure enough, when he looked up, Guffrey locked eyes with him yet again.  
“No,” he admitted with a slight gulp.  
“Then I’ll talk to you later,” Natalie looked like she really wanted to say something, but he knew it probably wasn’t the right time.  
“How are the kids doing?” Taylor quickly asked before she could disconnect, “did you talk to them?”  
“I did but I don’t know how convincing I was,” Natalie admitted, “I’ll get Ike to reassure them.”  
“Good idea,” Taylor rubbed his face.  
“I’ll call back when he gets here, okay?”  
“Great. I’ll talk to you then,” he smiled.  
The call ended, and he sat back in his seat again before looking upward. Guffrey was still staring down at him. Taylor wished he could read him, but the glass was stopping the pheromones and he was too far away to read micro-expressions without his glasses.

With a sigh he diverted his eyes, wondering how long Isaac would take. He began to work out calculations in his head as to how long it would take to both get from Isaac’s house to the studio and then back to his and Natalie’s house, but he didn’t know how far he’d been into the journey either.  
He guessed he had maybe a half hour.  
“I will be down to speak with you soon,” his eyes shot to the glass as Guffrey’s voice came through yet again, “we should all hope that your brother will have a more satisfying contribution.”  
“What does that mean?” Taylor frowned.  
“It means that this activity has a deadline,” Guffrey responded, “and it needs to be adhered to.”  
Before Taylor could respond again he’d sealed the glass once more.   
“HEY!” Taylor jumped from his seat as Guffrey made to leave, “what does that mean?! What’s my deadline?!”  
But Guffrey either couldn’t hear, or ignored his questions. Taylor could feel his heart starting to race as the man disappeared from sight again, and knew the empath was once again having trouble.  
With a groan he sat back down on the chair to wait for him to regain control. He didn’t want to think of what would happen if his influence might cease.  
He was just returning to a regular breathing pattern when he heard the door unlocking. Expecting to see Guffrey when he looked up, he frowned when he saw the telepath instead.  
The man closed the door behind him, keeping an eye to the ceiling as he dug in his right pocket.  
“Something wrong?” Taylor was apprehensive, working on his body language.  
When the telepath started toward him with nothing but determination Taylor knew instantly what he was going to do. He didn’t have to see the wire to react by jumping from the chair again – this time tipping it so it was in the man’s way.  
“You don’t want to do this,” he insisted, a hand out to pacify him as he moved around the couch.  
“Oh I really do,” the telepath replied, “remember all those people you killed?”  
“I’ve already apologised for that,” Taylor could feel his heart racing again as he continued backing off, “if I could go back and change it, I would. But at the time I had no choice!”  
“There’s always a choice,” the telepath scorned as he rolled out the garrotte, “and you chose to kill my brother.”


End file.
